Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price–and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone…A convict with a thirst for revenge.A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager.A runaway with a privileged … runaway with a privileged past.
A spy known as the Wraith.
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.
Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction-if they don’t kill each other first.
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I loved it!!! It was absolutely a page turner. It started out a bit slow, but if you have the patience to wait a little longer, you would love the action. All in all, I would totally recommend it!!!
Um, brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
There was a depth to the characters that is hard to come by in YA fantasy. Each character had their own quirk, their own persona that made them them. There were no cookie cutter molds that they were shaped from, and Bardugo did a fascinating job avoiding a lot of the stereotypes of YA fantasy.
I’m not going to say too much, but this was such a breath of fresh air. Kaz Brekker and Inej are two of the most brilliantly crafted characters, and the dynamic between the two of them is orchestrated beautifully–once or twice it’s touching, sometimes it hurts, most of the time it’s frustrating in the most alluring of ways for a reader.
Downside? The ending was very, very predictable and there weren’t any breathtaking twists … lots of in-your-face action though. But the journey you take with the characters should make up for it.
And so many good quotes.
There had been a lot of hype in the book world about the Six of Crows duology, so I had to jump on this bandwagon and give it a chance after reading the blurb. Six of Crows is definitely a wonderful read, but I’m not sure if I would give it all the hype it created. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying the book is bad. I’m just saying I enjoyed the story. It’s a great story, but I don’t think I’m going to put it in my top 5. Now, I may change my mind after reading Crooked Kingdom and I will let you know if I do change my mind.
One thing I really enjoyed about this story is it didn’t follow a character who was trying to save the world or a country. It followed six individuals who were damaged and just trying to survive. They were thieves and gang members who were after the biggest score of their lives. The chapters rotate being told from different points of view. I’m not talking two or three different points of view, but SIX unique points of view. And each character has depth and a distinct voice. Not only does Bardugo have a masterful talent when it comes to writing characters, but she is just as talented when it comes to creating fictional worlds. The Grisha world Bardugo has written is complex and adventurous.
P.S. If you are like me and like to collect physical books, the hardcover copies of Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom are absolutely GORGEOUS!
I am super late to the Leigh Bardugo party, but what a wild party it is! I had heard so many good things about this book and finally had the time to settle down with it during a long trip. It really hooked me from the outset with its alternating POVs and wonderful ensemble (I wanted to be Inej SO BADLY but honestly I’m probably more of a Jesper at heart). There are a lot of moving pieces in this plot and Bardugo was able to keep them moving while slowly pulling back the curtain on each of her characters. I can’t wait to get my paws on the second book and her other trilogy.
How did I just now discover Leigh Bardugo??? I see it classified as YA but did not find it so, other than it kept any sexual inclinations or activities to a minimum…but really, the characters were way too busy to be dallying anyway! Interesting characters, plot twist within plot twist, and really well written prose. I hungrily grabbed the sequel to this 2 book series. Now I am going back to read her original series…and I can see the development in her writing and that Six of Crows was far more adult and more developed than the previous series, but am enjoying this one and appreciating the writer’s growth. I cannot wait to see what she writes about next!
First off, Let me say I wasn’t a fan of Shadow and Bone, but my daughter insisted that I read Six of Crows because it was so good and she wanted to discuss it with me!
I am glad to be able to say that I really enjoyed this book.
The characters were engaging and distinct, and the depth of their history and their resulting behaviour was great to read. I did struggle a bit with them being so young and yet so skilled. But that is a minor point that you can ignore.
This book is so well written, and easy to read that you get through a lot quicker than you expect. Bardugo has created an amazing world in the Grishaverse, and reading the Shadow and Bone trilogy gives you more grounding on how the magical system works, but you don’t have to read it to enjoy Six of Crows.
If you watched Shadow and Bone on Netflix then the Nina/Mathias scenes are exactly as in Six of Crows. They are an awesome couple and their enemies to lovers journey is written so well you can see it happenening and the way they react to each other is amazing.
I must admit Kaz is my favourite character, so enigmatic and yet his clever brain is constantly churning ideas and solutions. His struggles to relate with the other characters, especially Inej is painful to read, which shows how well Bardugo wrote it.
I love books with maps, and this book had the layout of the Ice Court in the front, which is really helpful to follow where the characters are when they go on the heist and all split up and how they get back together again
This book is so cleverly written, and the heist is so cool, especially when it all starts to go pear-shaped! Can’t wait to read book two The Crooked Kingdom, which my daughter assures me is much darker and where Kaz really earns his nick name of ‘Dirty Hands’.I managed to get hold of the collectors edition and it is so pretty with the red foiling on the hard cover, and the red sprayed edges. At the back is some amazing character art of the Crows. I am sure my daughter will be nabbing it when she comes home!
This is a whole new side to a favorite author. This is grittier and much more in your face than the Shadow and Bone trilogy. Ms. Bardugo took all the faith and established places and built something brand new. These characters are each so uniquely broken but come together perfectly to take up their roles as the Six. It’s impossible to choose a favorite because there was something to mourn and celebrate about each of these memorable beings. That ending was creative and so well executed. I’m hopeful and anxious to see how Kaz will navigate his crew to get revenge and save the day. I want all the things to happen and I can’t wait to see how it comes about. This was one unpredictable read that you won’t want to set down! Bravo to the Maven of Suspense!
I think this is amazing book and everybody should read it.
A stunning, tense, dark adventure that carries the reader from the streets of Ketterdam to the splendour of the Ice Court on the most dangerous mission Kaz Brekker and the Dregs had ever taken on.
The writing is powerful and compelling, conveying the desperation and adrenaline of the story, and the imagery is rich in sensory detail. Telling the story from the different characters’ perspectives create an intriguing dramatic irony that both informs the reader and helps to build the suspense and anticipation that completely hooks the audience.
The narrators – one for each central character – are expressive and very listenable, making the story flow and creating a very effective interweaving of the strands of the story. The characters really come to life with the audio, especially in the recounting of their backstories, the exposition of their thoughts and fears, and the revelation of their perceptions and responses to the other characters and the experiences they share.
The story remains suspenseful and maintains the innate tension of the story right to the end.
What an incredible found family story with a heist for the ages! Every character is nuanced and original, loveable even at their least likable. I regretted every interruption as I read, wanting nothing more than to dive back into the spell Bardugo wove and the complex plot and world she skillfully created. I loved every minute!
WOW!!!
Six of Crows is the first book I’ve read by Leigh Bardugo and I was blown away by her world.
Since I had not read her other books in the Grisha Series, I was slightly lost in the beginning of the book with the language and the extraordinary abilities of the people. Though, I persevered through a couple of chapters and I’m so happy and delighted that I did.
Talk about speculative fiction!
This tale revolves around teenagers between the ages of 15 to 18 years old. And you’ll be utterly amazed, IF, this is the type of genre that you love, which I do.
I was captivated by a convict, a sharpshooter, a runaway, a wraith, a Heartrender and, a thief. A bunch of misfits that come together for a spectacular mission. The story is fast paced, gritty, and full of action.
After reading Six of Crows, I’m not surprised that the author, Leigh Bardugo is a #1 New York Times Bestseller.
This book is a great read! You should definitely read this if you like mysteries!!!! This book is very clever and unpredictable!!!
What a fantastic story! The world-building, the characters, the twists and turns—absolutely loved it. And I’m totally shipping Kaz and Inej so hard! Definitely picking up the next.
Highly recommend this to YA fantasy readers who like a dark edge (although, I have to admit, this didn’t read as a typical YA novel for me). Awesome!
OMG, I can’t say enough, how much I loved this book.
I’ve been seeing good things all over the book world about this book and wanted to see what the fuzz is all about. Now I know and I can’t believe I have not read this book earlier.
I have not read any of the Grisha books so this world and the Grisha magic was new to me, but it is very easy to catch on and before you know it, you are part of the world.
Going into the book I thought it is about a heist and it really is but there is soooooo much more to it. All the characters couldn’t be more different from each other and each have different reason to go into it and risking their lives. But they wprk so great together as a group.
Each has such a deep and colorful background story that you can’t help to fall in love with them and or their story.
The book has a multi-point of view, each Characters has one and it switches with each chapter, at first I thought that it would be confusing but it really is not and it made the reading experience so much more fun and we get a much better understanding of that character and the world.
Over all I can’t say enough how much I loved this book. It is very very easy to get sucked into that world.
It is suspenseful, funny, and heartbreaking and just has a certain charm to it.
The ending blew me away and I can’t wait to see what happens next to this gang.
I just have to give this book a full 5 , because it just really is that great and I can only highly recommend it to everyone.
The Six of Crows is a heist story. It started slow, but I fell in love with the characters by the end. If you liked this, I’d also recommend The Palace Job
i’m a sucker for a good heist story…and this was no exception. Plus, characters who love food as much as me is always a plus
When I first came across Six of Crows I filed it under “potentially interesting” in my TBR. I then got a copy for my daughter (who’s obsessed with Sarah J. Maas’ Throne of Glass), and it seems I matched her tastes well. I decided to give it a read too.
*** What to expect
A tale of six teenagers in the wonderfully crafted “Grisha-verse” by Bardugo. The story proceeds on classic thriller themes of an impossible mission (prison break more than heist). Point of view shifts mainly between those six, as events slowly build up to the grand finale.
*** What I liked
I loved the world the Bardugo built. The gritty city of Ketterdam has a nineteenth-century Amsterdam feel to it, a bustling centre of commerce and shady dealings. There’s a rich culture all around, with nations symbolising other powers loosely based on northern Europe and Asia at the time, with well balanced magic that is woven well into society. It’s wonderfully done, and provides a fresh setting for fantasy.
The character too, are well drawn. Each is a definite, fully-fleshed individual, with their own voice, needs, and desires. Bardugo starts the book moving, and weaves in back-stories just as needed. She does so masterfully, both tantalising the reader and increasing desire for more details, and revealing things from the past at the right time to cast powerful light on actions in the present.
*** What to be aware of
There were a few issues that bothered me. Two I think are a product of my age and experience, and one I think is more generic.
First, I find that the characters are exceedingly mature and experienced for their age. Yes, I realise that our modern teens lead a somewhat sheltered life, but I still feel that they have learnt and achieved more than can be warranted within the short years they had.
The other issue that bothers me are the action sequences. Perhaps it’s my own obsession after decades of martial arts, but I’d say that this goes beyond fighting to a few high-action scenes. There’s just a certain sense of disconnect between all the individual actions happening, to the point that it feels like people have either too many hands or move at an inhuman speed and levelheadedness. The flow of one movement to the next is missing or broken.
The most jarring problem, though, and the one I think is not with my tastes but with the writing style, is that in some cases Bardugo springs a “previously arranged” device at just the right time — and that feels like a deus ex machina. There’s a fine line between not revealing plans and having a secret ace up the sleeve, to having (in continuation of the analogy rather than alluding to the plot) a whole pack of cards made of nitroglycerin lining your sleeves that nobody seems to have noticed and miraculously didn’t explode till now. Writing your protagonists into an impossible situation is a thriller standard practice, but getting them out by a suddenly revealed item which no one noticed before amounts to divine intervention. This (or other implausible means) is just not my thing. I’d rather see ingenuity and suspense every time (See my notes on #8 in my post on Kurt Vonnegut’s eight rules for writing).
(Note that I haven’t provided specific examples here both to avoid spoilers and in fairness to Bardugo; Please comment here or contact me if you wish a further discussion).
Lastly, be aware that this is the first part of a duology. The heist is resolved, but the novel ends with on a cliffhanger, setting the scene for the next novel.
*** Summary
If you routinely read young-adult fantasy novels, this is certainly a good example of the genre. Bardugo’s world-building is first-class: original, witty, and engrossing. Characters are well drawn, and if you care more about stories driven by characters and are willing to forgive the occasional action or plot slip, this is as good a novel as any. While my review may seem scathing, note that a lot has to do with my personal tastes and preferences. I still enjoyed reading the novel and have no trouble recommending it to the right audience. If that is you, I’ll bet you’ll enjoy Six of Crows too.
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Assaph Mehr, author of Murder In Absentia: A story of Togas, Daggers, and Magic – for lovers of Ancient Rome, Murder Mysteries, and Urban Fantasy.
There is nothing wrong with this book.
Everything, from the characters to the actual plot, felt believable and undeniably HUMAN. Kaz, Nina, Jesper, Inej, Wylan, Matthias, and Kuwei all had stories that didn’t start when you just began the writing. They are all fleshed out, lovable, and believable, and they add to the well-developed plot tremendously. There was a plethora of insanely quotable lines. The writing was delicious and FULL. It’s been so long since I’ve been truly satisfied with a book. AND THE COUPLES I CAN’T EVEN!
Read this. It’s like a beautiful banquet for the soul. With waffles and knives.
Leigh Bardugo = new favorite author
This is like one of the best books If I was honest I was worried that this hype would fail me but it didn’t. It actually went beyond what I expected. Six of Crows from the cover to the entire story blew me away. Starting with the cover and packaging of the book its just cool. From the book cover with mysteriously creepy crows to the black painted edges it is awesome. I never read a book with that kind of design.
Now onto the story itself it had a plot that just pulls you in. I liked the concept of a heist taking place in this fantasy world that seems to be either Eastern European or Russian vibe. I also like the way Leigh built a world that makes you fill like you are walking into the streets of Ketterdam. I also like the fact that the story itself have its own history, rules, and magic. Sadly, I missed out on the Grisha Trilogy because of the sudtle references but luckily it wasn’t too much that confused me.
Onto the characters that really shine. The book actually focuses on six characters and Leigh lets you dive into each character. I liked getting to know each of them and learning about their backstory. I also like the way the actors talk, act and interact. I especially love Kaz. He is dark, cruel but also smart. Regardless of the situation Kaz knows how to get out of trouble. I also enjoyed the character Jesper who I wished had more of his backstory but I guess that was saved for the next book.
Overall I had so much fun reading this book. Plus, picking up a book with blacked painted edges is like the icing of the cake. I also enjoyed meeting the characters and watching them grow throughout the story.
I really loved this book enough to where I bought the second one. For those interested in old world feel with fast paced humor this is the book for you.